Agitator for washing machines



April 24, 1928. 1,667,195

H. J. CRINER AGITATOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed March 5. 1926 INVENTORH r/: C'RJIY'ER w afiinwg,

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 24, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HARRY T. CBINER, OF GLARINDA, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO CLARINDA MANUFACTURING-COMPANY, OF CLARINDA, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

AGITATOR FOR WASHING MACHINES.

Applicationfiled March 3, 1926. Serial No. 91,934.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved agitator forclot-hes washing machines so constructed and arranged that in operationit will produce a circulating movement of water in the machine andproduce a more efficient cleansing of the clothes.

A further object is to provide an improved agitator which is made ofmetal and presents smooth surfaces which do not catch on or injure theclothes. j

A further object is to provide an improved agitator so constructed andpositioned that the entire bot-tom of the tub of the machine is leftclear and unobstructed, with consequent greater capacity and permittingeven distribution and a movement of the clothes over the bottom of thetub.

Still a further object is to provide a hollow cone-shaped agitator witha number of projecting wings on its outer surface of peculiar shape andhaving distinctive and valuable functions in producing .a movement ofwater in the tub which is desirable in respect of the forcible movementof the water against the clothes to be cleaned.

with these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter setforth, pointed out in the claims and illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improvedagitator removed from the machine.

Figure 2 is a plan View of the same, they operating shaft being shown insection.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the agitator, part1 in section, aportion of the shaft being bro en away. I

Figure 4 is an elevation, partly in section, showing the agitator inposition for use in a washing machine tub and illustrating thecirculation of water produced in operation.

The agitator is formed with a conical body 10 of hollow construction andhaving at its upper end a collar or boss 11 formed with an aperturewithin which extends, and is secured, the shaft 12. The shaft 12 in thisinstance is square in cross-section and it serves to suspend theagitator within a washing machine tub such as 13 and also to produce arotary oscillation of the agitator when the mechanism is in motion. Theshaft 12 extends through the lid of the tub 13 and through a housing 14carried by said lid, which housing contains suitable mechanism describedin detail.

' point somewhat above the base .Serial Number 55,497.

Integrally formed on and radiating from the outer surface of thecone-shaped body 10 of the agitator are wings, preferably'three innumber and equally spaced, which I have designated by the numerals 16,17 and 18. Each of the wings 16, 17 and 18 starts at a point near thetop of the cone-shaped body 10 and terminates flush with the lower endof said body. The outer margin of the wing is'of peculiar shape whichgives to the agita tor its especial function in producing a circulationof the Water, and this shape will be Each wing is narrow at its top,being formed on a slight curve 19 joining it to the cone, which curve 19merges into a relatively straight marginal edge 20 which is arranged atan angle diverging slightly from the plane of the surface of the coneand of a length somewhat less than one-half of the total length of thewing. The straight edge 20 is joined at an obtuse angle to anothersubstantially straight edge 21 which leads abruptly away from the bodyand merges into an arcuate marginal edge 22 of considerable radius whichturns back toward and joins the body 10 and is substantially tangent tothe plane of the baseof the cone. Thus there is produced an outstandingwing which is narrow in its upper portion and wide in its lower portion,and at a of the cone, at its widest point, said win has a widthsubstantially one-half that 0% of the cone in that horizontal plane; andthe narrow and Wide portions of the wing merge into each other and arejoined by curved edges to the body of the cone. The

.edges of the wings and the base of the cone are preferably rounded, andthecone itself is smooth except for the projecting wings, so that thereare no sharp edges or rough surfaces to injure clothes to be washed.

In practical use water and clothes to be washed are placed in the tub 13and the agitator is oscillated. In this construction the agitator shaft12 is free to slide vertically in its bearings, so that the agitator canrest on top or substantially n the top of the the diameter 5 clothes,which are distributed over the hottom of the tub. As the agitator isoscillated a current is set up in the water in the tub, which issubstantially shown by the arrows in Figure 4, this current beingupwardly near the center of the tub following substantiall the wings ofthe agitator, then outward y near the top toward the walls of the tub,and thence downwardly along said walls. This is a rolling motion orcomplete circulation of the water in all directions radially of the tubwhich brings the water.

into intimate, forcible and continuous contact with the'clothes andserves to cleanse the said clothes in a very efiicient manner. It is tobe understood the same action would be used for rinsing the clothes inthe event a rinse water were used instead of a suds water. Of coursesome rotary motion of the water circumferentially of the tub is alsoproduced due to the rotary motion of the agitator, and some movement ofthe clothes also is produced from side to side by coming into contactwith the wings. The cone shape of the agitator also serves as a dividerfor the clothes and prevents them from collecting on or clinging to thetop thereof as they tend to do on a fiat-topped agitator. Thehollowconstruction of the agitator also serves to vary the pressure somewhatin its movement so that the water will move up and down somewhat, andthere is some vacuum action of the cup on the water, all of whichincreases the efficiency of the agitator in moving the water and theclothes, but more particularly the water with relation to the clothes,to produce a cleansing action. It is believed the peculiar circulatingmovement of the water is due principally to the shape of the cone andits wings, and that great advantage is obtained by the peculiar sha e ofthe wings which has been described in etail.

This agitatoris also economical to manu-' facture as the body and itswings arecast in one piece from suitable metal such as aluminum.

I claim as my invention-- 1. An agitator for washing' machines,comprising a hollow cone-shaped body, a means connected with the upperend of said body for causing a rotary oscillation, and a plurality of.independent wings formed on and radiating from said body, the upperportion of each wing being arranged on a substantially straight linediverging outwardly slightly from the body and extending not more thanone half the total length of the wing,the lower portion being formed ona relatively large are to which the base of the cone-shaped body issubstantially tangent, whereby currents of liquid are drawn inwardlytoward the base of said body when it is rotated and thence upwardly andbetween said wings.

2. An agitator-for washing machines arranged for rotary oscillation andcomprising a substantially cone-shaped body, and a plurality of wingsformed on and radiating from said body, each of said wings beingrelatively wide in its lower portion and having Its margin formed on anarc, said are merging into a straight line inclining sharply toward thebody, the upper portion of the wing being relatively narrow and havingits outer margin arranged on a substantially straight line disposed atan ob tuse angle to the first mentioned straight line and at an acuteangle to the outer surface ofthe body, whereby when said agitator isoscillated a rolling motion of water is produced, the currents passingupwardly between said wings and along the surface of the cone-shapedbody and thence outwardly therefrom. HARRY J. CRINER.

